WANTED: One Bad Cat

Our little town has a no-kill animal shelter called "Huts for Mutts", which is a really great organization for a town of any size, much less a small town of less than 3,000. They are always having adoption events and special rabies-shots events and things of that nature. This week they sponsored an event called "Nickel Neuter", which was just for male cats. For a mere FIVE CENTS, you could take your male cat in to be neutered. Yes, you read that correctly, FIVE U.S. CENTS. Not five dollars, FIVE CENTS. A nickel. Amazing! I called and got our one remaining tom cat, Cole, on the list. I was to have him there at 8:30 A.M. I'm thinking, no sweat. Cole was here the night before, purring like a little engine on the porch. He does run around, but he almost always is around in the morning hours if he was present and accounted for the night before. Well, clearly, someone tipped ole' Cole off about what was coming his way. He knew we didn't say. "Hey! Let's take the cat in to be TUTORED."... He knew what we planned to do with his manhood, and he was having no part of it! When the morning dawned, clear and bright, Cole was GONE. We looked. We called. We tried to lure him to the porch with cat chow. No sir - he was Gone (with a capital G!) I had to call the nice Huts for Mutts folks and say, "I'm sorry - My tom cat is out tom-catting around, and I cannot find his sorry behind." I don't think they were particularly impressed with me.

That evening, once the event was over, guess who I found on my porch? That's right, Cole was back, fat and sleek, looking very smug and proud of himself. The sorry sucker! He's the mac-daddy of our little "kitty harem", and I think he intends to stay that way. Luke said he really respected Cole's efforts to keep his Mo-Jo. I just shook my head... it must be a male thing!

Our other tom-cat, Chester Henry, (the sweet yellow one who was a lover and not a fighter) is gone for good, I'm afraid. He hasn't been around for well over a month. The children are so sad. Luke and I secretly wonder if Cole didn't have something to do with his sudden disappearance... He is a crafty fellow... I think he would be the prime suspect.